Fouls Create Trouble As Beavers Drop Game to Kansas Christian

Blackburn Women’s Basketball hosted Kansas Christian College on Friday evening, and lost the game by a final score of 69-63.

After playing the Lady Falcons earlier in November, the Beavers were looking for a win against Kansas Christian. The Lady Falcons defeated the Beavers when they faced off in November by a score of 63-52.

1^st Quarter: Early turnovers caused chaos for both teams, as it seemed that neither the Lady Falcons nor the Beavers could successfully create an offensive drive. Zhira Cephus scored the first points of the game, draining one of her two free throws early in the quarter. The Beavers quickly regained control and took a 5-3 lead with seven minutes left in the quarter. After Brendeja Holloman tied the game for Kansas Christian at 5-5, the Beavers obtained an 8-5 lead courtesy of Juliette Adlawan’s floating jump shot. However, Kansas Christian quickly made the game 8-8 from a three-pointer, and at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Falcons led the Beavers 15-14.

2^nd Quarter: Elizabeth Morris opened the second quarter by giving the Beavers the lead, 16-15. Aryanna Harris followed this shortly after by knocking down a three that gave Blackburn a 19-17 lead with 7:45 left in the quarter. After Holloman tied the game for Kansas Christian, Mikalle Lowry drained consecutive three-pointers to give Kansas Christian a comfortable 31-22 lead. Multiple fouls allowed the Beavers to inch their way back into the game, and at halftime the Beavers trailed 40-31.

3^rd Quarter: After a half filled with fouls, the Beavers came out looking to close the gap even further on Kansas Christian. Adlawan gave the Beavers life when she drained a three with nine minutes left in the quarter, reducing the lead to 40-34. With 7:45 left in the quarter, the Beavers were trailing 42-36, but more fouls allowed the Beavers to inch even closer to the Lady Falcons. Adlawan made both her free throws to make the score 47-42 with 4:30 left. A scoring drought went on for both teams until there was roughly one minute left in the quarter. Hopson got the Beavers within three points on a jump shot, making the score 47-44, but Kansas Christian knocked down another three after to make their lead 50-44. Harris laid one in to end the quarter with a score of 50-46.

4^th Quarter: Hopson continued her dominance, draining a three to start the last quarter. Adlawan tacked on to her total for the night as well, knocking down a clutch three to put the Beavers ahead 54-53 with 6:40 left. Caidy Tuetken added on with a layup just after to make it 56-53 Blackburn. However, Kansas Christian was not giving up so easily, and soon enough the Beavers found themselves down 63-61 with just three minutes left to play. After a timeout, Tuetken added more points and put the Beavers within two, making the score 65-63, with Kansas Christian still leading. A foul by the Beavers put them in a difficult position to close out the game, and with ten seconds left they were down 68-63. Another foul by the Beavers secured the win for Kansas Christian, and with five seconds left in regulation they were down 69-63. At the end of regulation, the Lady Falcons had won by a final score of 69-63.

The Beavers will have a full week to recover before their next contest. Blackburn will host Central Christian Bible on Friday, December 9^th. Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m.